Have I just been unlucky every time I've changed onto the Sydenham line at London Bridge in the evenings since they did away with the through service from Charing Cross, or is everyone here so inured to the situation that they can't be bothered to complain? On the odd occasions that I've done it, it's been complete and utter hell: you need to arrive 10 minutes before departure time to even stand a chance of getting a seat, it seems, and the crowding is worse than during the rush hour. I know it often used to be bad getting on at London Bridge of an evening, but since I'd usually come through from Charing Cross or Waterloo East I already had a seat, so it didn't bother me so much. Now I'm starting to wonder whether I need to apply for one of Southern's priority seating cards for people with disabilities - something I thought I'd never have to do since I no longer commute!
Do Southern usually put on 8-coach trains rather than 4? Have I just been unlucky, or are they regularly inflicting these cattle-truck conditions on people in the evenings? Judging by how much the train had emptied out by the time we got to Sydenham, I wonder if a lot of those people wouldn't actually have had a more comfortable ride if they'd waited another 10 mins for the Crystal Palace loop train.
London Bridge-Sydenham evening trains
On a similar note for another Sydenham line, does anyone know how the former reliable service from Sydenham Hill to Victoria on which you could always get a seat has, since the timetable change at Christmas, turned into a oft cancelled cattle truck, that by the time it gets to Herne Hill is so packed that no one can even get on.
Good work South Eastern trains!!
Where can one complain about this appalling company? They are a joke.
Good work South Eastern trains!!
Where can one complain about this appalling company? They are a joke.
alywin - either you've been unlucky or I've been lucky. I've had an unusually busy social life over the past fortnight so have been travelling from London Bridge in the evenings (7pm - 10pm). I have always been able to get a seat and the carriage is never that full. Plus it's usually a 8 coach train. I commented to a friend only recently that I was pleasantly surprised with the "new service". I thought it I would have to revert to the night bus after they stopped the evening Charing Cross services (which I could never get a seat on). It's a massive pain now having to rush from one side of LB to the other to get your final train.
"Rush hour" trains are also 8 coaches long and are packed
. But this has always been the case throughout the 5 years I've been catching the train from LBG. I usually use my common sense and wait for the next train and unlike the idiots (can I say that) that force themselves onto an already over-capacity train. We're lucky that the trains every 15 minutes on a good day.
Given my past experience with the trains I think I've just been extremely lucky since the CC service stopped.
"Rush hour" trains are also 8 coaches long and are packed
. But this has always been the case throughout the 5 years I've been catching the train from LBG. I usually use my common sense and wait for the next train and unlike the idiots (can I say that) that force themselves onto an already over-capacity train. We're lucky that the trains every 15 minutes on a good day.Given my past experience with the trains I think I've just been extremely lucky since the CC service stopped.
I especially like the way our late trains are often on platforms 15 and 16 - with sometimes the added incentive of needing to get there 10 minutes early as the 4-carriage train you need is parked in front of the train already sitting on the platform...Have I just been unlucky every time I've changed onto the Sydenham line at London Bridge in the evenings since they did away with the through service from Charing Cross, or is everyone here so inured to the situation that they can't be bothered to complain?
